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1848 May 3 Charles Bellamy 14yr Hung himself & committed suicide & thereof buried at night in the Church yard without religious rights.

Dorset County Chronicle 18 May 1848Hazelbury Bryan - On Friday, the inhabitants of this place were much shocked on being informed that a lad named Bellamy, about fourteen years of age, had committed suicide. It appears that the boy's mother is dead, and that his father is of intemperate habits from which circumstances the lad had suffered many deprivations. He committed the act of self-murder by repairing to a neighbours orchard, and there suspended himself to a tree till life became extinct.

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Well suicide was a criminal offence, anyone who failed to take their own life could be prosecuted.I feel sure That the verdict of" balance of mind disturbed " was rather kinder than at first seems.Perhaps there were regulations re where the body of a suicide victim could be interred,.Maybe not in a churchyard even. But if they were considered not to be responsible for their actions perhaps the exception could be made .I`m just surmising because you can`t just go burying people anywhere than an authorised place.Some RootsChatter will know. Viktoria.

Poor lad. I have a few suicides in my family, but none are youngsters like this boy.Does that "intemperate habits" mean that his father was an alcoholic, or does it mean that his father had violent habits? I suppose it was probably both Kind regards

Poor lad. I have a few suicides in my family, but none are youngsters like this boy.Does that "intemperate habits" mean that his father was an alcoholic, or does it mean that his father had violent habits? I suppose it was probably both Kind regards

Nothing known for certain, but it seems that father could not cope with 5 children after the death of his wife and so deserted them. Daughter and eldest son (Charles) took responsibility, but maybe that became too much for Charles.The 1851 census shows that of the 4 remaining children the daughter and elder son (18&14) were in service in Hampshire, whilst the two younger sons (13&10) were lodgers and labourers in the village.Father moved around Dorset, ending up in Cerne Abbas workhouse where he died in 1880. Buried Piddletrenthide 'aged 82' (actually 76).

We can't really imagine what it was like for some of these people, can we ?

Of the four children, one son, after his wife died, left his two children with in-laws and left the county, but the other three had long lives - needlewoman, gardener (OH's gt grandfather - she loves gardening) and ostler.

As I understand it, the addition of "while not of sound mind" or similar, was a way of removing the criminal element of suicide and allowing proper burial. I don't know when it began to be used, perhaps it just crept in. My relative died in 1863, and was given that verdict.

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